Some people will write Chinese food off as fatty and full of MSG (Mono Sodium Glutamate). Saturated fats and excess salts are considered bad for the heart and so it follows that Chinese food is unhealthy, right?

Wrong Some Chinese dishes, corrupted to become popular to western palates, fit this bill. Authentic Chinese food is not fatty, and MSG, if used at all, is used sparingly. In fact Chinese food has a long history of being directed towards promoting health; a much longer one than any local ‘fad’ in the west.

Some history

Although united 2000 years ago, China never developed a state system for healthcare until recently. Citizens had to take their own measures when sick, and since these were often too expensive, that meant avoiding sickness in the first place if at all possible.

The first principles of food therapy were established nearly 4000 years ago, though it was only during the Tang Dynasty (608-906 AD) that this form of knowledge became really popular. Four ‘pillars’ were identified as crucial to staying healthy: lifestyle, diet, exercise and mind. Of these diet was considered the most important, probably as it was the one over which people had the most control.

Food plays a central role in Chinese culture. Cooking healthy food for the family is a lifelong profession for most women. Children are brought up with some knowledge of the health properties of their food and dietary restrictions are commonly understood and observed. Eating healthily is almost an obsession and forms an unspoken bond between family members.

Some background

Traditionally, foods are classified in 4 groups:

Grains are for sustaining

vegetables for filling

fruits for supporting

meats for enhancing

Using modern terminology we can identify Grains as equivalent to carbohydrates, vegetables as roughage, fruits as vitamins and minerals and meats as protein.

A balance of 40:40:10:10 is considered ideal, with perhaps some variation in the balance between vegetables and meats.

Note that dairy products do not feature here. Most Chinese do not eat any dairy foods after childhood and, in fact, become intolerant to them as young adults.

It all comes down to what you choose

Bearing just this little bit of knowledge in mind it is possible to order better and more healthy Chinese food. By definition that will also be more authentic Chinese food.

Steamed rice is the staple of choice at any Chinese meal and if cooked properly should be tasty. Forget the various forms of fried rice and try it next time.

Avoid dishes in which meats have been coated and deep fried. The batter soaks up fat whereas fat used to stir fry meat and vegetables forms only a thin film. A little bit of fat is fine (and indeed necessary) but keep it reasonable.

Avoid dishes with sauces. These are laden with sugar and are often the culprits if excess MSG is being used.

Finally, watch what you are drinking. Boiled water and tea are traditional, though usually only before and after a meal not during the actual eating.

The variety of Chinese food dishes and Chinese food recipes available today is wider than in any previous decade. One can easily find Chinese food recipes for Chop Suey, which is not an authentic Chinese dish, along side of Hunan Beef. It is interesting to note that what many refer to as Chow Mein noodles is really a simpler crunchy version of the real thing.

In centuries past when the Chinese still used forks and knives is when the foundation for modern day Chinese cooking was formed. This is back when the cutting techniques and delicate flavors came together to form healthy hearty meals.

This is also when the three primary Chinese cooking techniques were formed.

The first Chinese cooking technique is stewing. Stewing can be either red or clear and is the simplest of the three methods. In clear stewing the clear liquid is brought to a boil and then allowed to simmer until the food is just tender. In red stewing a small amount of sugar and soy sauce is added which gives the stewed food a reddish tinge.

The second Chinese cooking technique is steaming. Steaming can be either wet or dry. The Chinese have used steaming as a primary cooking method for over 3000 years. Before ovens were common place steaming was a preferred method which allowed for moist flavorful food that retained most of its nutrients.

Frying is the third of the traditional Chinese cooking techniques. Frying can be either deep frying in oil or sautéing. When deep frying the food is submersed in hot oil and allowed to cook until it floats. In sautéing the meat, vegetables and garnishes are cooked quickly over high heat in a small amount of fat.

Chinese food. It’s certainly tasty enough, but is it healthy? In these modern days of looking good and feeling good this is a question that might often be on the lips of anyone who has just devoured an egg fu yung. Well the answer to the question is that, yes, authentic Chinese cooking is very healthy. In fact the Chinese diet might be one of the healthiest in the world.

Sadly the same can not be said about the meals prepared at some Chinese restaurants or take-aways, where the food is often prepared with highly saturated fats and the meat used in the preparation of the recipes is not exactly of the leanest cut. The meals prepared in establishments like this are neither authentic, or healthy. Although they might very well be extremely tasty. But at what cost to the diners health?

Good, authentic - and healthy - Chinese food is prepared and cooked with poly-unsaturated oils and has no use for dairy ingredients such as cream, butter, or cheese. Meat is included in the recipes but is not of an abundant quantity. So lovers of authentic Chinese cooking are easily able to avoid the dangers associated with the intake of too much animal fat in their diet.

So in answer to the question: ‘Is Chinese food healthy?’ the answer is a very definite yes, but you must be sure that the Chinese meal that you are eating is an authentic Chinese meal prepared in the traditional manner and using only traditional and healthy ingredients. You can have your cake and eat it; just as long as you know that it is the right kind of cake you are eating.

Chinese cuisine has always been a worldwide favorite. No wonder Chinese cooking schools are in great demand. If a Chinese cooking school is what you are looking for, then you have plenty of choices. You can find them in most of the major cities. A simple search on the Internet could do the work for you.

You can even check out your city’s Parks and Recreation Department. This department offers many evening or weekend courses, particularly during spring and fall. There are also many local colleges or trade schools that can help you cook up a Chinese diet. Catering companies, professional Chinese cooking schools or cookbook stores also offer courses. A non-professional can choose from a host of weekend or evening classes on Chinese cooking. A local food publication can also give you a fair idea about finding the right Chinese cooking school. One can also find do-it-yourself Chinese recipes in these books, too.

While a lengthier course gives you plenty of time to learn and fine-tune your skills, a short duration course is ideally suited for someone to pick up a few tips. They are also suitable for individuals with tight schedules and cannot commit to many sessions in a week.

Chinese cooking is an ancient form of cooking. This being the case, it is always better if you were to try it hands on. Just in case you don’t feel comfortable doing so, you can try buying a Chinese cooking video and try out the delicacies.

With Chinese cooking being a traditional affair, one can find that most of the Chinese cooking schools offer a very homely atmosphere. The classes are usually small. A good Chinese cooking school would also encourage you to ask questions and have a closer look at what the instructor is preparing.

Food is an important part of daily life for Chinese people. Chinese not only enjoy eating but believe eating good food can bring harmony and closeness to the family and relationships.
Shopping daily for fresh food is essential for all Chinese cooking. Unlike the fast food society of the U.S., the Chinese select live seafood, fresh meats and seasonal fruits and vegetables from the local market to ensure freshness. This means swimming fish, snappy crabs, and squawking chickens. Even prepared foods such as dim sum or BBQ duck for to go orders must gleam, glisten, and steam as if just taken out of the oven.

Chinese people in general are not as concerned about nutrition as Western culture. They are more concerned with the food’s texture, flavor, color, and aroma. These are the crucial points for good Chinese cooking. Chinese daily meals consist of four food groups: grains, vegetables, fruit, and meat. Because of lactose intolerance, Chinese do not consume large amounts of dairy products. Instead, Chinese substitute these with soymilk and tofu, which also contain large amounts of protein and calcium. Vegetables, fruits, and meats are usually fresh. Some exceptions include preserved vegetables such as snow cabbage or mustard greens, preserved eggs, aka “thousand year old eggs” or salted and dried fish. Other exceptions include snack items such as beef jerky, cuttlefish jerky, sweet and sour preserved plums, or dehydrated mango slices.

Canned or frozen foods are seldom eaten. Western desserts such as cookies, cakes, pies, and ice cream are eaten only on special occasions such as birthdays and weddings. After dinner, families usually eat seasonal fruit as dessert. Chinese desserts such as red bean soup, sweet white lotus’s seed soup, or steam papaya soup are served every so often as a special treat on a hot summer’s night.

Ethnic Chinese cooking does not involve a lot of deep fried cooking. The reason most of the Chinese restaurants in America have deep-fried dishes such as sweet and sour pork, almond fried Chicken, and deep-fried shrimp is to promote business and to please western tastes. This clearly reflects why there are more overweight and high blood pressure concerns in Western culture than there are in Chinese culture.

Such an ethnic Chinese food mingled with Traditional Indian food can be enjoyed in Indo Munch Restaurant which is and Indian Chinese Fusion Cuisine.

Chinese green tea has been acknowledged to be valuable to individual health. For thousands of years, Chinese green tea has been talked about and written about because of its numerous helpful effects. According to Chinese history, the first individual to ever drink Chinese green tea was the Emperor Shen Nung in 2737 B.C. One day while boiling some water for drinking, the leaves from a nearby tree fell into his pot. Chinese green tea leaves when boiled smelled and tasted wonderful. Shen Nung urged his people to drink it. The notoriety of the Chinese green tea spread quickly. It is reported in A.D. 800, monks who studied Buddhism in China brought Chinese green tea to Japan.

What makes Chinese green tea different from other teas?

Chinese green tea is made from Camellia sinensis, the identical plant, from which oolong and black tea are gathered. So what makes Chinese green tea different? The technique, by which Chinese green tea is produced, makes the difference. Oolong and black tea leaves are oxidized and dried while the Chinese green tea leaves are steamed and dried. Steaming and then drying helps Chinese green tea keep most of the good antioxidants present in it. Chinese green tea has quite a few health benefits. Modern scientists have noted several specific proofs of the positive effects of Chinese green tea. The antioxidants in Chinese green tea are responsible for making the Chinese green tea beneficial. The antioxidants in Chinese green tea can reduce cholesterol levels in a person, improve how blood vessels work, and reduce blood lipids.

It was also discovered that Chinese green tea can help reduce inflammation and may offer protection against cardiovascular diseases. Chinese green tea for weight loss researchers at the University of Geneva have reported Chinese green tea aids in weight loss. The thermogenic properties of Chinese green tea help a great deal. The research team studied the weight loss benefits of Chinese green tea by observing the interaction between the caffeine in Chinese green tea and a compound called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). When these two substances react, thermogenesis of the body increases by four percent. People can burn an extra 70 calories a day Drinking Chinese green tea, a feat that weight loss enthusiast’s love.

Let’s first get one thing straight right off the bat. Anybody who thinks that when they walk into a Chinese restaurant and order their meal that they get anything resembling what Chinese people really eat, has been eating in Chinese restaurants either way too often or not often enough. Having said that, we’re going to concentrate on what we refer to as “Chinese American” restaurants, because in reality, that’s what they are.

The stereotypes of who eats Chinese food are beyond silly. Other people besides Jews eat Chinese food, or what we call Chinese food. The reason these stereotypes exist is because many years ago when the modern day Chinese American restaurant started to become popular, the majority just happened to open up in Jewish neighborhoods. So naturally more Jewish people at there than anyone else. Today, you will find all kinds of people eating at Chinese restaurants.

So, what kind of food DO you find at a Chinese American restaurant? Most Chinese American dishes fall into what they call categories of food. Their are your chow mien dishes which feature the classic chicken chow mien. But you can get a lot more than just chicken chow mien. You can also get shrimp chow mien, beef chow mien, roast pork chow mien and just about any other kind of beef, pork, chicken or fish that you can think of. Just a quick tip. If you’re going to get the chicken chow mien, get the white meat chicken chow mien. It costs about a buck more but they give you more chicken and the pieces are bigger.

Aside from your chow mien dishes you have your lo mien dishes. The only difference between these two are the kinds of noodles they use. Other than that, they are pretty much the same, at least at most restaurants in the states. The whole key to a Chinese dish is the vegetables that they put in it. Most of a Chinese dish is pretty much vegetables. There is relatively a lot less meat than there is vegetable. That’s why the dishes are relatively inexpensive and also why you’re hungry two hours later.

Then there are some specialty dishes. You can usually tell what these are because they have names like Moo Goo Gai Pan. You have absolutely NO idea what’s in this stuff by reading the name of it. Fortunately, there is usually a description of the menu item underneath the title so you can get some idea of what you’re eating.

Aside from the main dishes you get your standard side dishes like roast pork, egg roll, stuffed mushrooms, etc. Most people usually fill up on the fried Chinese noodles that they give you before you even get your dinner. This way it doesn’t seem so much like you hardly ate anything. And of course the meal is topped off with a fortune cookie and some tea. This is standard fair for a Chinese restaurant.

Some of these restaurants are good, some are okay and some are not so great. It’s hard to find a Chinese restaurant that’s really terrible. After all, how much can you ruin a vegetable?